1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote operation support system and method permitting an operator in an operating room to perform an operation with the help of instructions given by a supporter present in a remote place.
2. Description of the Related Art
Endoscopes are today widely adopted in the fields of medicine and industries. Endoscope systems in which endoscopic images produced by an endoscope with an external TV camera or an electronic endoscope are displayed on a monitor and viewed for observing or treating a lesion have been widely used in recent years. The endoscope with an external TV camera has a TV camera with a built-in imaging means mounted on an eyepiece unit of an optical endoscope. The electronic endoscope has an imaging means incorporated in the distal part thereof.
As one of the endoscope systems, an endoscope system making it possible to perform a treatment or an operation under endoscopic observation using, in addition to a light source apparatus, a camera control unit, and a TV monitor, a plurality of peripheral instruments, for example, a pneumoperitoneum unit and a high-frequency cautery has been constructed and put to practical use. The light source apparatus supplies illumination light to an endoscope. The camera control unit (also referred to as a video processor) has an image signal processing circuit that enables display of endoscopic images. Endoscopic images are displayed on the TV monitor.
In the above endoscope system, the plurality of peripheral instruments is normally connected to a system controller and controlled on a centralized basis.
In the case of trans-endoscopic surgery, even a physician having little experience can achieve surgery with the help of instructions given by an well-experienced physician who views endoscopic images displayed on the monitor. Therefore, the endoscopic images displayed on the monitor are very important. If the endoscopic images should represent an area different from an operative area desired by the well-experienced physician, the well-experienced physician would give oral or direct instructions. Thus, the physician teams up with the well-experienced physician so as to achieve surgery smoothly.
The well-experienced physician giving instructions may be present in, for example, a remote place. In this case, a hospital or the like in the remote place for which a physician serving as a supporter works and an operating room in which a physician in charge of a surgical procedure are linked using a public line. This results in a system for supporting the physician in the operating room so that the physician can properly perform an operation on a patient while receiving instructions from the physician present in the remote plate.
By the way, in the trans-endoscopic surgery in which an endoscope is used during surgery, endoscopic images displayed on a view screen of a monitor and representing an operative area are very important. If the endoscopic images should represent an area other than a desired region, an examination or treatment cannot be achieved properly.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-149879 has proposed an endoscope system capable of visualizing a treatment instrument such as forceps and its surroundings using a view screen and preventing the view screen from becoming hard to see. The conventional endoscope system includes an XY stage control unit for giving control so that a reference circle will be positioned in a field of view offered by an endoscopic and magnified by a magnification optical system. The reference circle has a radius r and has a center thereof aligned with the center P of a rectangular TM area within an image range whose image is magnified by the magnification optical system and displayed on a TV monitor. As another related art, an endoscope system making it possible to move or change a field of view using a switch included in an endoscope has been proposed.
However, in the endoscope system described in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-149879 or the endoscope system having the endoscope whose field of view can be moved, if the field of view is moved to a desired position at a too high speed, the field of view may pass through the desired position. In these conventional endoscope systems, a manipulation-related instruction must be repeatedly entered in order to move the field of view to a desired position. It therefore takes much time to move the field of view to a desired position.
In contrast, the field of view may be moved at a lower speed so that the field of view can be moved to a desired position with the first move. The field of view can be moved to the desired position reliably. However, since the moving speed is low, it takes much time. to move the field of view to the desired position. While manipulations are performed in order to move the field of view, a treatment using a treatment instrument cannot be carried out. This becomes a factor in retarding the progress of surgery.
An object of the present invention is to provide a remote operation support system and method permitting a physician in a remote place to properly support a physician in an operating room. Specifically, the physician in the remote place can view endoscopic images by way of a communication line. Besides, the physician in the remote place can change an image area or a viewing direction, which is represented by endoscopic images displayed on a monitor, in a desired manner by performing manipulations.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a remote operation support system and method making it possible to move a field of view to a desired position quickly, easily, and reliably.
According to the present invention, there is provided a remote operation support system in which an operating room and a control room located away from the operating room are linked using a communication line so that an operator in the operating room can perform an operation while being supported by a supporter in the control room.
An endoscopic imaging system, an image processing unit, a first display unit, a field-of-view change control unit, and a first signal transmission apparatus are installed in the operating room. The endoscopic imaging system includes an image formation optical system and an imaging device. The image processing unit converts an image signal produced by the endoscopic imaging system into a video signal. The first display unit displays endoscopic images expressed by the video signal sent from the image processing unit. The field-of-view change control unit changes an image area or a viewing direction offered by the endoscopic imaging system. The first signal transmission apparatus transmits a signal processed by the image processing unit over the communication line or receives an input signal over the communication line.
A second signal transmission apparatus, a second display unit, a control unit, and an input unit are installed in the control room. The second signal transmission apparatus receives a signal from the first signal transmission apparatus over the communication line or transmits a signal from the control room. The second display unit displays images according to an endoscopic video signal received by the second signal transmission apparatus. The control unit produces an instruction signal used to change the image area or viewing direction represented by endoscopic images displayed on the second display unit. The control unit also controls the field-of-view change control unit in the operating room by way of the second signal transmission apparatus and transmission line.
According to the present invention, there is provided a remote operation support method in which an operating room and a control room located away from the operating room are linked using a communication line so that an operator in the operating room can perform an operation while being supported by a supporter in the control room.
The remote operation support method consists mainly of an imaging step, a converting step, a video signal transmitting step, a video signal receiving step, a displaying step, an outputting step, an instruction signal transmitting step, an instruction signal receiving step, and a changing step. At the imaging step, an intracavitary region of an object lying in the operating room is imaged. At the converting step, a signal expressing endoscopic images projected at the imaging step is processed and converted into a video signal. At the video signal transmitting step, the video signal is transmitted to the control room. At the video signal receiving step, the video signal transmitted from the operating room is received. At the displaying step, endoscopic images are displayed according to the received video signal. At the outputting step, an instruction signal is produced and output for use in changing an image area or a viewing direction represented by the endoscopic images displayed at the displaying step. At the instruction signal transmitting step, the instruction signal produced and output at the outputting step is transmitted to the operating room. At the instruction signal receiving step, the instruction signal transmitted at the instruction signal transmitting step is received in the operating room. At the changing step, the image area or viewing direction in an intracavitary region of an object is changed based on the received instruction signal.
Other features of the present invention and advantages thereof will be fully apparent from the description below.